Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Lester was 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA before and after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Lester started and won the final game of the 2007 World Series, and in May 2008, pitched a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.

Lester attended Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Washington, where he was a three-time MVP and three-time All-Area selection. In addition, he was named Gatorade State Player of the Year for Washington in 2000.

The Red Sox drafted Lester in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2002 draft and gave him the highest signing bonus of any second-rounder that year, $1 million.

Lester quickly moved through the Red Sox organization, posting an 11–6 record, a league-leading 2.61 ERA and a league-best 163 strikeouts for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in 2005. He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year and was selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Eastern League's year-end All-Star team and on the year-end Topps AA All-Star squad.

David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Previously, Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins from 1997 until 2002. Ortiz is a seven-time All-Star and holds the Red Sox single season record for home runs in a regular season with 54, set during the 2006 season. In 2005, Red Sox ownership presented him with a plaque proclaiming Ortiz "the greatest clutch-hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox".

Ortiz graduated from Estudia Espallat High School in the Dominican Republic and in 1992 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners who listed him as "David Arias". He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Mariners farm team, until 1996, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Dave Hollins. When he arrived in Minnesota, he informed the team that he preferred to be listed as "David Ortiz."

He made his Twins debut in September 1997. For a few years, he was moved back and forth between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats. The Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series that year, where they lost to the Anaheim Angels. Despite showing flashes of talent, Ortiz's time with the Twins will be remembered as a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. He continued to experience knee problems in early 2002 that plagued him throughout the season, despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games. He was released by the Twins after the season. In six seasons with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 home runs and 238 RBI.

John Derran Lackey (born October 23, 1978) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues. In 2007, he led the American League in earned run average and was also named to the All-Star team for the first time. When he became a free agent in 2009, Lackey signed with the Boston Red Sox. In 2011, he had one of the worst seasons by a starting pitcher in Red Sox history and the team missed the playoffs by one game after leading in the Wild Card race by 9.5 games in September.

Lackey was born in Abilene, Texas. Before Lackey was in high school, he played at Dixie Little League in Abilene. Lackey attended Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) (the Eagles), and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In baseball, he was a two-time first team All-District honoree and as a senior, he was also an All-State selection.

Clayton Daniel Buchholz (born August 14, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. On September 1, 2007, in just his second major league start, he recorded a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, becoming the third MLB pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second start. He is the first Red Sox rookie and 17th Red Sox pitcher to pitch a no-hitter.

Raised in Lumberton, Texas, Buchholz played baseball for the local youth baseball leagues, and then for the Lumberton High School Raiders.

Buchholz began his college career in 2004 at McNeese State University. Also that year, he and a hometown friend were arrested for stealing 29 laptop computers from Lumberton Intermediate School, selling many to other students at McNeese. Buchholz later expressed regret, saying "That was a mistake. I was hanging out with the wrong person. But I think it helped me out in the long run." He was subsequently dismissed from the McNeese baseball team.

Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. During his career in the playoffs, he won the 2003 World Series MVP Award with the Florida Marlins, and received the 2007 ALCS MVP award with the Red Sox.

A resident of Spring, Texas, Beckett was discovered by Florida Marlins scout Bob Laurie. Beckett had signed a letter of intent to play with the Texas A&M Aggies but went pro. Beckett spent most of his early years with the Marlins as a member of the team's young staff, but injuries (most frequently blister problems) limited him to only 99 starts (102 appearances) from 2002 to 2005.

Beckett's major league debut was on September 4, 2001, against the Chicago Cubs, in which he gave up one hit over six shutout innings. He finished 2001 with four games started, a 2-2 record, and an ERA of 1.50.

Beckett won the 2003 World Series MVP Award with two strong performances on three days' rest. Teamed up with catcher Iván Rodríguez, he helped the Marlins win the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees. During Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, he shut out the Yankees in a complete game, striking out 9 batters and clinching the series by making the tag for the final out.